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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: Dr Chan and colleagues¹ reported their experience of a rapid response system implementation. A rapid response system generally comprises an afferent and an efferent component. The afferent component (responsible for event detection and activation of the efferent component) routinely requires the bedside nurse or physician to identify a patient at risk using clinical judgment or predefined criteria; telemetry and other technologies have a role as well.² The efferent component in this study was a team comprising intensive care unit (ICU) registered nurses and a respiratory therapist. Other team structures may include medical emergency teams staffed by an intensivist, ICU registered nurse, and rapid response team.

A rapid response system is intended to systematically identify a patient at risk and provide resuscitative service at the bedside, not simply to transport patients to the ICU. We believe that their hospital had a rudimentary rapid response system in place during . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Stuart F. Reynolds, MD
stuart.reynolds@uhn.on.ca
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rinaldo Bellomo, MD
University of Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia

Ken Hillman, MBBS
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia

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